Dendrobium hodgkinsonii is found in Papua New Guinea, where the orchid grows epiphytically on trees. It is a small to medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with 4 noded, yellow, up to 20-30 cm in length stems carrying towards the apex, 2 to 3, bright green, elliptic to ovate, erect, 12-15 cm in length and 4-5 cm in width leaves...
Dendrobium hodgkinsonii also called as Hodgkinson’s Dendrobium, is a species of the genus Dendrobium. This species was described by Robert Allen Rolfe in 1990.
IDENTIFY DENDROBIUM HODGKINSONII ORCHID PLANT
Dendrobium hodgkinsonii is found in Papua New Guinea, where the orchid grows epiphytically on trees.
It is a small to medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with 4 noded, yellow, up to 20-30 cm in length stems carrying towards the apex, 2 to 3, bright green, elliptic to ovate, erect, 12-15 cm in length and 4-5 cm in width leaves.
Hodgkinson’s Dendrobium blooms in the late winter and early spring on a 15 to 20 cm long, 2 to 7 flowered inflorescence arising from the nodes at the apex of the stem and carrying nodding flowers. The flowers are greenish with dark red veins and spots, about 6 cm in diameter.
DENDROBIUM HODGKINSONII ORCHID PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Dendrobium hodgkinsonii loves bright sunlight and is able to tolerate direct sunlight (up to 55000 lux), while acquiring a lighter shade of leaves and pseudobulbs. The location of the plant may be southern, western and eastern orientations, on the northern windows.
Temperature:
This kind of orchid refers to a moderate temperature regime, and throughout the year the plants are recommended to contain under the following conditions: Summer temperature is not above 27 ° C; Winter temperature is 16-20 ° C. For the successful cultivation at home, it is necessary that the night temperature of the content is always at least 4 ° C lower than the daytime temperature.
Humidity:
In places where this species grows (Papua New Guinea), the relative humidity of the air rarely falls below 50%. In conditions of high humidity, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room where the plants are kept, since wet, stale air is an ideal medium for the mass reproduction of various fungal and bacterial diseases.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Dendrobium hodgkinsonii is grow in plastic and clay pots or hanging lattice baskets or placed on blocks. As a substratum, any purchased mixture based on the bark of coniferous trees, peat and moss sphagnum, it is also possible to grow the plant in a clean moss or to lay bark and moss with layers, for example, 1/3 of a pot of coarse fraction and 2 / 3 pots of pure moss. When growing orchids on blocks to prevent rapid drying of the root system of the plant, it is recommended to make a small interlayer of moss between it and the block. Above the roots, you can also put live or dry sphagnum.
Watering:
The frequency and abundance of watering the orchids of this species directly depends on the overall temperature of the content and intensity of the illumination, the higher they are, the more often and abundant it is necessary to water. Plants growing on blocks, it is desirable to water daily in the morning, so that by evening their roots could dry out relatively well. When watering orchids in pots, it is necessary to remember that excess water during watering should flow freely out of the pot, as the stagnation of water both inside the pot and in its pallet can very quickly lead to rotting of the roots and the lower part of the plant.
Fertilizer:
During the period of active growth, this kind of orchids is fertilized for every third watering in 1/2 of the fertilizer concentration indicated on the package. In addition to the usual root top dressing, it is also recommended to produce a foliar dressing, when a very much diluted fertilizer is sprayed on the outer part of the plant. It is best to feed the orchid, alternating both these methods. The best fertilizer is fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal parts, for example, NPK = 3-3-3 or 8-8-8. If you do not have such a fertilizer, then at the beginning of the growing season (the emergence of new shoots), feed the orchid with a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, and when the sprout reaches 1/2 of its normal growth - fertilizer with a higher content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
Closer to the formation of new pseudobulbs, the watering of the orchid is gradually reduced, the Dendrobium hodgkinsonii is completely dry between 5-7 days, and then the period is extended to 2-3 weeks, and complete watering can also be avoided. To avoid premature death of the root system of growing on the blocks of orchids, it is recommended to spray them at least once a week, and that during the drought period the orchid does not evaporate the precious moisture from the surface of the leaves and pseudobulbs, it is desirable to lower the total temperature to 15-18 ° C, or would remove the plant away from the hot batteries. Before the beginning of the rest period, it is advisable to feed the orchid very well with phosphorus fertilizers, and the plant is no longer fertilized during the rest period. With the advent of peduncles, the rest period ends and the watering of the orchid resumes in the usual volume. The failure of flowering can be caused by insufficient lighting, absence of differences between night and day temperatures, the general stress state of the orchid, for example, caused by regular overheating or a bad root system, or too wet by the content of the plant during the rest period.
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